What is Penetration Testing and Why Should You and Your Online Business Care?

Whether you use your computer for work or simply for social media – are a tech buff or novice – there is no questioning the fact that modern technology is more accessible and open to the masses than ever before.

The current (and growing) reach of technology therefore creates opportunities; for example, people have opportunities to interact in new ways, and businesses have opportunities to target and connect with new customers. It therefore makes good sense for most businesses to have their own website. Despite the obvious advantages of having an online business presence, there are pitfalls. Hackers make the internet an unsafe place for those who fail to take the necessary steps to make their website secure.

The Risks of Unsecured E-Commerce

Less tech-savvy business owners may feel more inclined to risk their online security because they do not understand the significance of the risks involved. Here are three of the top online security risks to E-commerce:

Credit card fraud – a common form of online fraud, credit card fraud represents a huge cost to businesses, who are responsible for paying back fraudulent transactions.

Stolen data aggregation – hackers may target many smaller online businesses and use the accumulated information to build a large pool of valuable data.

Malicious coding – hackers use malicious coding to create vulnerabilities within software. This can lead to the opening of data and websites can even be controlled. Malicious coding was used on a frightening scale in the May 2017 attack on NHS computers.

However, ensuring your business has an adequate level of online protection need not be complicated.

Penetration Testing

Penetration (Pen) Tests, such as those offered by Nettitude can offer a viable and cost-effective solution to those who feel their online security may be compromised. Given the pace of technological advancement, and the speed at which hackers find ways around security measures, it is worth considering running regular Pen Tests on your website. This may help you to maintain a good level of security, and help to minimise the likelihood of an attack.

Pen Tests work by faking an attack on your website. By doing this, areas of weakness are identified and these vulnerabilities can acted upon and rectified.

The benefits of having a secure website extend to more than just your own peace of mind. Customers trust secure websites and are therefore more likely to complete the online checkout process on a secure website, and spend more money. Lacking decent web security is not just a matter of gambling with your own and your customers information; your business may be missing out on sales. It may therefore be a good idea for you to look at ways of improving the security of your business’ website.